Quick-acting wrench



July 15, 1924. 1,501,329

F. H. GREVE QUICK ACTING WRENCH Filed Oct. 7, 1922 ATUHNEYS Patented July l5, lgfls FRIEDRICH HANNS GREVE, OF LA SALLFLILLINOIS.

QUICK-ACTING WRENCH.

i Application filed October 77, 1922. Serial No. 593,008.

To all whom t (may concern:

Be it known that I, Fninnniorr pI-IANNS Gnnvn, a citizen oi the Republic of Germany, and'avresident or La Salle, in the county ot La Salle and State of Illinois,

have invented a new and useful Improve-` ment in Quick-Acting lllrenches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in.

quick acting'k wrenches of the type yin which the Jaws may be moved instantly into position, and it` consists in the combinations,

constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is toprovide a ldevice in which the jaws may be brought .into clamping position and maybe locked :by the use of only one hand.

A fur-ther Yobject of my invention ris to provide a quick acting wrenchin which aYK mere push on, the handle causes thesjaws y to grip the object, such asa nut.

A further object of my invention is to provide a quick acting:wrenchwvhich can vbe inserted in a comparatively narrow space,

`due to the tact that the jaws are parallel with the axis ofthe handle instead of .being. at right angles thereto.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wrench which can be used in the dark, since the operator does not need to know the size of the nut or other object being turned.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel ,features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying' drawings forming part of this application in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the device,

Figure 2 is a sectional view, certain parts being shown in side elevation,

Figure 3 is an enlarged section along the line 3 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In carrying out my invention I provide a handle portion 6 consisting of a hollow cylinder which is closed at one end and which is provided at its opposite end with a laterally extending triangular-shaped portion 7. The latter is provided with a slot 8 arranged to receive a milled thumb nut or` wheel 9. The triangular portion 7 is also provided with a smooth bore Y10 arranged to receive ascrew' 11 which is pro vided with a keyway adapted to lit over a key or feather 12. yThe construction is such l that when the milled wheel is turned, it will cause the screw to travel along the bore withoutv rotating.

The hollow cylindrical handle is adapted to fit over the cylindrical end 18 of a shank.

klietween the end 13 of the shank and the closed end of the handleis a spiral spring 14. The main body portion 15 of the shank vhas a rectangular cross section, as shown in Figure 4L. The shank has a slot 16 intowhich a pin 17 extends, lthepurpose of the pinA being to limit the movement ofthe p shank.

The outer end ofthe shank 15 bears a head 18, having an integral jaw portion 19, The head 18 is slotted to receive an integral extention 20 ofthe companion aw portion 20. The extension 20X is pressed on by a leaf spring 21 which is secured at 22 to the shank 15. TheQopposite end of the extension is engaged by the bow-shaped lever 23 which isrfulcrumed at,24:-on a ,bracket attached tol the shank 15. Theopposite end of the lever is adapted to bear on the inclined surface of the triangular extension 7 as clearly shown in the drawings. In order to provide for the smooth working of the parts, the leaf spring is bent to form a rounded portion at its end, the ends of the extension 20X are curved, and the ends of the lever 23 are rounded.

From the foregoing description of the various parts oi' the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Normally thejaws are open, being kept in this position by the sprino` 14 which forces the shank 15 lforwardly, thereby permitting the spring 21 to push the extension 2OX downwardly (in the position shown in Figure 2) since the end of the lever 23 will swing inwardly, (i. e., upwardly) as the shank is pushed outwardly by the spring 14, the end of the lever riding on the inclined surface of the triangular portion 7.

l/Vhen it is desired to turn a nut or other similar object the jaw 19 is placed against the object and the handle 6 is pushed toward the nut as far as it will go. The movement of the handle with respect to the shank will cause the triangular portion 7 to move the lever 23 so as to bringthe jaw 20 instantly in position on the opposite side of the nut. The milled wheel 9 may then be turned so as to cause the screw 1l to engage the shank, thereby locking the jaws in position. Then it is desired to release the jaws, the milled wheel is turned to force the screw ll away from the shank andthe springy 14 will instantly force the shank forwardly, thus opening the aws.

It will be observed that the wrench may be, and is preferably manipulated by one hand. Thus, in Figure l, the right hand could grasp the handle and the index finger would be underneath the wrench with the thumb on top, so that the milled wheel could be instantly turned as soon as the jaws had clamped the object. Since the milled wheel extends through the triangularnporclamp the nut in the manner already described.

I claim: j

l. In a quick acting wrench, a shank having a fixed jaw thereon, a movable jaw slidable with respect to the fixed jaw, a telen scopic handle portion slidable on said shank and beingprovided with a beveled portion, a lever carried by the shank, one end of said lever being arranged to bear on the movable jaw, and the other end being arranged to be engaged by the beveled portionl of the handle and means carried by said handle for locking the handle to the shank.

2. In a quick acting wrench, a shank having a fixed jaw thereon, a movable jaw slidable with respect to the Xed jaw, a telescopic handle portion slidable on said shank and being provided with a beveled portion, a lever carried by the shank, one end of said lever being arranged to bear on the movable jaw, aged the other end being arranged to be engaged by the beveled portion of the handle, means Vcarried by said handle for locking the handle to the shank, and a spring carried by the shank and arranged to engage the movable jaw to force it away from the Xed jaw.

3. In a quick acting wrench, a shank having a fixed jaw thereon, a movable jaw slidable with respect to the fixed jaw, a handle portion slidable on said shank and being provided with a beveled portion, fa lever carried by the shank, one end of said lever being arranged to bear on the movable jaw, andthe other end being arranged to be engaged by the beveled portion of the handle, means carried by said handle for locking the handle to the shank, a spring carried by the shank and arranged to Yengage the movable jaw to force it away from the fixed jaw, and a spring carried by the handle for forcing the shank and the jaws carried thereby away from the handle.

FRIEDRICH HANNS GREVE.l 

